Somaliland:Muse Bihi Abdi: The Chief Whip?

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The definition of Chief Whip is ” A political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.” At first thought this may not seem to apply to the Chairman of the Kulmiye Party, but look closer and the opportunity laid on his doorstep when he became Chairman would bear close similarity to the job description of a chief whip as seen in many democracies.

Many thought when he was appointed that he was given the keys to an empty barn, after the horse had bolted. Left to wallow in the public’s disdain for they had perceived as a grievous injustice had been done to him and many others. Mr Bihi played the role of a man wronged to perfection. The rallying cry was it was unfair to leave a man who had demonstrated his loyalty in the wind, while others gleefully noted his futility in getting nothing from this administration. It seemed back then that this was to be his fate.

He scorned at the President Silaanyo’s rapprochement and the great deal of effort put into placating the Chairman. He saw it as an affront to his stature within the party that he was not made the presumptive nominee for the Kulmiye party.

If the man had bothered to look around him, he would have realised that when he was made Chairman of the Kulmiye Party, he was in fact given the keys to the house. Lock, stock and barrel.

It was the perfect place for him to be to get the nomination. An astute politician would have grasped what Allah the beneficent had landed on his lap. From what we have seen he did not understand that at first and from what we now see, he appears to be slow on the uptake.

As the Chairman of the Kulmiye Party, he should know where the bodies are buried. Sorry, bad pun given the history. Mr Bihi should know more than any other candidate who his allies are and those he can persuade to see things his way. It is for moments like this that he should have kept notes. Time will invariably tell.

It is the party electing the nominee not the general public. He has the inside track as the ” Chief Whip”. As the people of Burco and its region, we have a habit of leading you to water but whether you drink it is entirely up to you.
Allaa Mahad Leh
Long live Somaliland
Hassan Mohamed Abokor